Submissions

Author Guidelines

IS publishes original, high-quality research in the field of Informatics. Submissions, accepted only in English, must comply with the journal’s formatting, ethical, and scholarly standards. Authors are strongly encouraged to read the following instructions in full before preparing and submitting their manuscripts, to ensure accuracy, consistency, and compliance with editorial requirements.

Scope of the journal

IS is a peer-reviewed, cross-disciplinary journal dedicated to advancing knowledge in the broad field of Informatics. The journal emphasizes the publication of original research, theoretical developments, and innovative applications that contribute significantly to the understanding and practice of Informatics. Manuscripts submitted to ISare expected to demonstrate scientific rigor, relevance, and originality within the diverse areas that constitute the discipline. Authors are encouraged to consult the detailed Focus and Scope of the journal to ensure their submissions align with the journal’s thematic focus.

General guidelines

• Registration or login as an author is required to submit a manuscript online and to track the status of current submissions. Please register through the submission portal.  If you experience any difficulties or prefer to register as an author via email, kindly contact the editorial office at editor@informaticsstudies.org, providing your affiliation and permanent address.

• The submitting or corresponding author is responsible for confirming that all co-authors have approved the article’s submission and publication. Additionally, it is the authors' responsibility to ensure that any manuscripts originating from a particular institution are submitted with the appropriate institutional approval. Please note that the official date of receipt is established only upon acknowledgment by email from the editorial office. All correspondence, including proofs, will be sent exclusively to the corresponding author(s) prior to publication unless otherwise specified.
• As a condition of submission, authors agree to allow editorial revisions of their manuscript to improve clarity, readability, and overall quality. For any questions or concerns regarding manuscript submission, please contact the editorial office at: editor@informaticsstudies.org
• Manuscripts should be submitted electronically to the editor as an MS Word file, with the filename consisting of the first author’s surname followed by the year of submission (e.g.: hussain2012). The main document must include the text, tables, photographs, and figures within a single MS Word file (preferably in Times New Roman font) with text double-spaced formatting. Page setup should be configured for A4-size paper with 2.5 cm margins on all sides. Additionally, all illustrations and photographs must be submitted separately as high-quality TIFF files. Each of these files should be named using the manuscript’s filename followed by an underscore and a letter indicating the type of image (C for Chart, I for Illustration, or P for Photograph), along with its corresponding number (e.g., hussain2012_C5 for Chart 5).
• Manuscripts, along with associated TIFF files and any supplementary materials, must be uploaded through the journal’s online submission portal. In addition, authors are requested to email the same set of files as attachments to the editorial office at:
  editor@informaticsstudies.org using the subject line – new submission (filename). The body of the e-mail should include an exact copy of the text of the cover letter accompanying the submission.
• The cover letter accompanying the submission should be prepared as an MS Word document and addressed to the Editor. It must include the full postal addresses, email addresses, and telephone/mobile numbers of all the authors. The file should be named using the first author’s surname followed by the year of submission and the suffix “_cl” (e.g., hussain2012_cl). The cover letter should clearly indicate whether the submission is an original work or an adaptation and specify the type of manuscript (e.g., Research Article/Review Article Perspective, etc). Additionally, it must also disclose whether the manuscript, or any part of it, has been previously published, except in abstract form. The author(s) are encouraged to suggest three to five potential reviewers for their manuscript; however, IS reserves the right to assign alternative reviewers at its discretion.
• Submissions to IS will be accepted only in English. Manuscripts must be uploaded through the official journal website at informaticsstudies.org, and a copy of the same must be submitted via e-mail as an attachment, accompanied by the required cover letter, following the specifications mentioned above.

Article Processing Charges (APC)

IS does not levy any charges on authors for manuscript submission or publication. To support its operational and publishing costs, the journal follows a subscription-based model with delayed open access, ensuring financial sustainability while upholding its commitment to open access.

Preparation of Manuscript

• Manuscript Categories

Original Research Articles: Manuscripts in this category should present original reports of well-conducted research with conclusions supported by the data demonstrated.  Submissions may also include robust quantitative studies and comprehensive meta-analyses that offer meaningful insights into the subject area. (Recommended length: 5,000–8,000 words)

Review Articles: Should provide an introduction on relevant topics to a wide readership and an authoritative, up-to-date summary for researchers. The inclusion of well-designed figures and tables to enhance clarity and engagement is strongly encouraged. (Recommended length: 6,000–10,000 words)

Short Communications/ Research Notes: Brief reports of preliminary research findings, innovations, or case-specific insights that merit rapid dissemination. (Recommended length: up to 3,000 words).

Methods Papers:  Reports detailing a new method or improvement to an existing method, evaluating new developments in comparison with conventional techniques where possible, and demonstrating their practical applications.

Case Studies: Case studies should present a detailed and context-rich examination of a specific instance, initiative, policy, institution, or community-based practice. Submissions should highlight the practical implications, challenges faced, outcomes achieved, and key lessons learned. The focus should be on providing insights that are transferable or applicable to similar contexts. (Recommended length: 3,000–5,000 words)

Conceptual / Theoretical Papers: These papers should contribute to the advancement of knowledge through the development, refinement, or critique of theoretical frameworks, models, or concepts. Authors are encouraged to offer original perspectives that stimulate scholarly discussion and open new avenues for research within the journal’s scope. Submissions should demonstrate a strong grounding in relevant literature and offer clear implications for further study or application. (Recommended length: 4,000–6,000 words)

Book Reviews: Book reviews should provide a critical and balanced assessment of recently published books relevant to the journal’s themes. Rather than summarising the content, reviews should analyse the book’s contributions, strengths, limitations, and relevance to current research or practice. Authors are encouraged to situate the book within broader scholarly or policy debates. (Recommended length: 1,000–1,500 words)

Commentaries / Opinion Pieces: These are concise, thought-provoking articles offering personal or scholarly reflections on emerging issues, trends, policies, or practices within the field. Submissions should be well-argued, supported by relevant evidence or experience, and aimed at stimulating discussion or debate among readers. (Recommended length: 1,000–2,000 words)

Editorials: Editorials are solicited by the journal’s editorial team and published by invitation only. They typically provide expert insights, commentary on current issues, or reflections on the journal’s focus areas.

While IS does not impose a strict word limit on submissions, authors are strongly encouraged to write concisely. Longer manuscripts should be submitted only when necessary and accompanied by a clear justification.

Please direct your pre-submission inquiries to editor@informaticsstudies.org with “Pre-submission enquiries” as the subject line.

• Manuscript format

The main manuscript should include Title, an Abstract (not exceeding 250 words), Keywords (up to six), Introduction, Main body (Structured based on article type), Declarations, and References. Figures and tables should be inserted in the main manuscript at relevant positions during initial submission. Additionally, all authors are required to provide a brief biography (Maximum 100 words), which will be included in the print version upon acceptance of the manuscript.

The journal is flexible with regard to the format of initial submissions. Reasonable variations in style and length will not affect the review process. Authors are encouraged to focus primarily on the clarity and quality of their content at this stage. If the manuscript is accepted with revisions, the editor will provide detailed and specific formatting guidelines that must be followed for the final submission to ensure consistency and professionalism across all published articles.

• Acknowledgments and Declarations

IS encourages the authors to acknowledge all the support received for their work and the preparation of the manuscript. The authors are encouraged to include an Acknowledgments and Declarations section in their paper before References with the following subsections as applicable.

Funding Statement: The financial support received by the authors for the research work reported in the paper should be acknowledged.

Sample statement: The authors gratefully acknowledge the support from [INSERT NAME OR INSTITUTION/ORGANIZATION] for this study.

If no financial support was received through any specific grant for the work reported in the article, the authors may state, “This work did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.”  

Conflicts of Interest: Any potential conflicts of interest related to the research or its publication.

The authors declare no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.

Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process:

In preparing this paper, the author(s) used [NAME OF TOOL/SERVICE] for [SPECIFIC REASON]. Following the use of this tool/service for the research process and/or data analysis, the author(s) thoroughly reviewed and edited the content as required and take full responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the final published work.

• Reference Style

The author-date system should be used for references in accordance with The Chicago Manual of Style. More details are available on web at: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

References should be listed at the end of the paper in alphabetical order. Several examples follow:

Journal Article (Single Author): Lancaster, F. W. (2003). Do indexing and abstracting have a future? Anales de Documentación, 6, 137-144. (Note: If each issue in a volume begins with page 1, then the issue number should be given, as 6 (3), 137- 144)

Journal Article (Two Authors): Author1 Last Name, Initials., & Author2 Last Name, Initials. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Name, Volume (Issue), page range.

Example: Smith, J. A., & Brown, L. M. (2020). Advances in information science. Journal of Documentation, 12(2), 45–60.

Note: If each issue in a volume starts at page 1, include the issue number as shown above.

Book: Suber, Peter. (2012). Open access. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Chapter in Book: Parthasarathy, S. (1963). Standard for bibliographical reference. In Ranganathan, S.R. (Ed.), Documentation and its facets. (pp.501-505). Bombay: Asia.

Website: Subirats, Imma, Irene Onyancha, Gauri Salokhe, and Johannes Keizer. (2007). Towards an architecture for open archive networks in Agricultural Sciences and Technology. Retrieved: November 20, 2012. http://eprints.rclis.org/handle/10760/15658#.UKPLn4esiSo

Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy of the references. Avoid excessive self-citation or citation of non-peer-reviewed sources without proper justification.

• Tables and Figures

Tables must be submitted as editable text (not as images) and embedded within the main manuscript at appropriate positions. They should be numbered consecutively according to their order of appearance in the text (e.g., Table 1, Table 2, etc.). Tables should be properly cited in the text and must not duplicate data presented elsewhere in the manuscript. Each table should have a concise caption summarizing its contents, with the caption placed above the table. 

All figures should be of high resolution and suitable for print-quality reproduction. Authors are required to submit figures in TIFF or JPEG format, with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Each file should be with the first author's surname plus year, followed by an underscore and fig1 (e.g., hussain2012_fig1) as the filename. Number figures based on the order of appearance in the manuscript (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.) and properly cite them in the main text. All figures must have legends describing the content and context.  The editorial team reserves the right to request figure revisions if they do not meet the required quality or formatting standards. Authors are responsible for securing all necessary permissions and copyright clearances for any photographs, images, figures, or software used in the preparation of their manuscript. Proper attribution and documentation of such permissions must be provided at the time of submission.

Contact Information

For any queries related to submission or publication, authors can contact the editorial office at editor@informaticsstudies.org.